Online campaign kicks-off in France

Tourism New Zealand has launched its first major advertising activity in over two years in France, partnering with the two largest online travel agencies Opodo.fr and GoVoyages.fr.

Combined, the sites receive over three million visits a month.

Launched this week, the campaign entices travellers already looking for a long-haul holiday to choose New Zealand.

A core part of the campaign is to build a significant amount of New Zealand destination content within the two sites alongside links to newzealand.com for those who want to discover more information.

"The French market is one of Europe's most prolific for using online channels to both research and book travel, so it makes sense for our first significant campaign in recent times to have a heavy online focus," says Gregg Anderson, General Manager Western Long Haul Markets.

"There has been solid growth in French arrivals since 2008. While arrivals were down last year this is due to the significant increase seen during the RWC 2011 which attracted over 11,000 arrivals alone. However, arrivals are up 1.5 per cent on two years ago - indicating strong underlying growth from the market.

"After elevating the importance of France in our business plans last year, we have undertaken a range activity at an industry level market.

"This campaign is the first to specifically engage with French travellers and aims to build on legacy growth from the RWC 2011 as well as leveraging New Zealand's increased profile since the release of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey last year."

Through the online booking sites, travellers looking for a long-haul holiday will be targeted with in-depth information on New Zealand and a variety of travel packages and offers designed to encourage them to book their holiday.

Activity is also underway to progressively translate the French market version ofnewzealand.com, with content prioritised based on the level of traffic being directed to various pages.